Indie-Pendent Voices: A Celebration of Authors and Zines

Nardwuar the Human Serviette interviews Razorcake editors Todd Taylor and Daryl Gussin to celebrate 25 years of underground culture. Expect deep cuts and unexpected surprises as they discuss Razorcake's enduring legacy of championing DIY punk, independent culture, and amplifying unheard voices. Admission is free, and all are welcome. 

Please note that demand for this free program will be extremely high, and Eventbrite reservations are required.

If you are unable to secure a ticket, you can still watch the livestream of the event on the Library's YouTube channel. 

Todd Taylor is the co-founder and Executive Director for Razorcake/Gorsky Press, a DIY punk zine. Daryl Gussin is the Managing Editor of Razorcake. Started in 2001 in Highland Park, Razorcake has printed more than 750,000 copies over 155 issues and is the only 501(c)(3) music magazine in the United States. 

Nardwuar the Human Serviette is a Canadian journalist and musician. He formed the Canadian garage rock band the Evaporators and serves as lead singer and keyboardist. He is known for in-depth interviews with musicians, celebrities, and politicians, and has a YouTube channel with more than 3.8 million followers. 

Learn about the history of zines as vehicles for protest and self-expression, and create your own zine to amplify your voice and advocate for change with librarian Ziba Pérez. An inspiring workshop on the powerful role of zines in social and political movements that will unlock your inner activist.

Get inspired by librarian Christa Deitrick and a select group of Los Angeles writers as they share their diverse works across genres, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and more. 

Explore the richness and diversity of Southern Californian cultures with three indie publishers defining the visual and literary culture of the Southland. Hear from Rebecca Ustrell, the Editor-in-Chief at Curious Publishing; Bryan Ray Turcotte, founder of Kill Your Idols; and Clint Woodside, the co-founder of Deadbeat Club.

Rebecca Ustrell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Curious Publishing, a grassroots, BIPOC Womxn-founded small press and artist think tank focusing on social justice, mental health, and amplifying marginalized voices in Southern California’s Inland Empire. 

Bryan Ray Turcotte is a filmmaker, artist, music producer, and journalist. Bryan co-founded music production company Beta Petrol. He founded the Kill Your Idols publishing company in 1999 to critical acclaim and continues to publish art books and limited-edition zines. 

Clint Woodside is a photobook publisher, editor, designer, and founder of Deadbeat Club. His roots in the 90s hardcore scene plus a background in graphic design inform his DIY ethos and Deadbeat Club's collaborative model of working with artists. Since 2011, Deadbeat Club has published more than 100 titles.

Spanning queer fantasy, ancestral poetry, and powerful memoir, authors Madeleine Nakamura, Emily Clarida, and Shonda Buchanan will discuss how they navigate the heavy, beautiful weight of lineage and identity in their work. From dismantling ableist tropes in speculative fiction to honoring oral histories and mixed-race heritage, these three authors will share how they use different literary forms—fantasy, poetry, and memoir—to tell urgent truths about who we are and where we come from.

Madeleine Nakamura is an author and editor based in Los Angeles. Her debut adult queer fantasy novel Cursebreakers, published by Red Hen Press, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Independent Book Review, and won bronze in the Foreword INDIES. 

Emily Clarida is a poet, cultural storyteller, and author whose work is rooted in Gullah Geechee heritage and ancestral memory. Her writing explores survival, womanhood, spirituality, cultural identity, and the reclamation of self. She is the author of All of Me: Spirit, Survival & Sacred Love and All of Me: Light Work, Heavy History. 

Shonda Buchanan is a Pushcart Prize nominee, Oxfam Ambassador, USC Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities Fellow, and City of Los Angeles (COLA) Department of Cultural Affairs Master Artist Fellow, and the author of five books, including the award-winning memoir, Black Indian.

How do we map our memories, heritage, and lived experiences onto the page? In this dynamic panel, artists Emma Palm, Christine Lêsantos, and Jaklin Romine discuss the vital intersection of zine-making and cultural identity. Discover how these creators use DIY publishing to tell deeply personal stories—whether it's navigating language and mixed identity, or addressing intersectionality, and spatial exclusion. Learn why the accessible, rule-breaking format of the zine remains one of the most important tools for authentic cultural expression and personal archiving today.

Emma Palm is a Taiwanese-American musician and artist. She creates hand-bound books and printed media grounded in traditional craftsmanship, while frequently experimenting with non-traditional paper and intricate stitching styles. Often informed by her Taiwanese heritage, background in linguistics, sound, and music, her work shifts between standalone art objects and functional forms. 

Christine LêSantos is a queer Vietnamese-Chinese American, Los Angeles-born and based, award-nominated artist. She is the creator of Legendaries, an all-ages graphic novel series centered around kids learning about different cultures through the legends of those cultures being real.

Jaklin Romine was born and raised in Los Angeles County. Her multidisciplinary work in performance art, photography, and zines confronts the intersection of feminist ideals formed by her identity as a disabled, queer, Latinx, POC living in the Southern California landscape. Romine’s work has been exhibited internationally, and she has lectured at institutions ranging from CalArts to the New York Film Academy.

Step into the subterranean transit history of Los Angeles with the creative minds behind the stunning photobook of Wilshire Subway: The Making of the D Line Subway Extension. Author India Mandelkern, photographer Ken Karagozian, and book designer Sabrina Che will have a fascinating behind-the-scenes discussion on how this legendary piece of LA’s infrastructural history was transformed into a compelling visual narrative. This panel offers a rare look at the collaborative process between writer, photographer, and designer, and how they worked together to create a powerful cultural history, bringing the human stories of Los Angeles’ D Line from underground to the light of day. 

Ken Karagozian is a Hollywood native who has spent more than thirty years photographing the rail's return to Los Angeles and the individuals who have brought these megaprojects to life. Using a medium-format Hasselblad camera, Karagozian documents these otherworldly subterranean environments usually hidden from public view. His work has been collected by the Huntington Library, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and others.

India Mandelkern is a historian and writer based in Altadena. She has published two books: Electric Moons: A Social History of Street Lighting in Los Angeles (Hat & Beard Press, 2023) and Wilshire Subway: The Making of the D Line Subway Extension (Aurora Projects, 2026). She is a certified sommelier and holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Sabrina Che is a photographer, editor, and book designer based in Los Angeles.

Acompáñanos en una inspiradora conversación con autores latinos independientes que han elegido la autopublicación como una forma de compartir sus historias y amplificar sus voces. A través de sus experiencias, desafíos y aprendizajes, nuestros panelistas explorarán cómo la autopublicación y la narración de historias pueden convertirse en herramientas poderosas para la expresión personal, la representación cultural, el fortalecimiento de la identidad y la construcción de comunidad.

Ya seas un escritor que sueña con publicar su primera obra, un educador, un bibliotecario o simplemente un amante de los libros, esta conversación te ofrecerá inspiración, perspectivas valiosas y una mirada cercana a las distintas posibilidades que ofrece la autopublicación.

Elizabeth Riggs es una autora mexico-americana cuya escritura nace de un camino de sanación, fe, resiliencia y transformación personal. Su libro Pasos para un Encuentro recibió una Mención Honorífica en los International Latino Book Awards 2024 y, a través de su escritura, inspira a otros a descubrir su fortaleza interior y creer en la posibilidad de nuevos comienzos.

Trino Z. Sandoval es un trabajador social, autor y conferencista motivacional nacido en México, cuya labor enfatiza la educación, la perseverancia y la importancia de perseguir nuestros sueños a pesar de las adversidades. Autor de Cuando la noche se nos viene encima, El regreso del colibrí y The Sky is the Limit!: The Boy Who Never Gave Up on His Dream, ha compartido su mensaje con estudiantes y comunidades en Estados Unidos, México y otros países.

Salvadora Sosa es autora bilingüe y fundadora de The Reconnection Movement, donde desarrolla y facilita programas centrados en el autoliderazgo consciente, el crecimiento personal y la transformación. Su libro Yo Me Elijo: Del dolor a la plenitud consciente invita a los lectores a reconectarse consigo mismos, reconocer el poder de sus propias historias y convertirse en autores conscientes de sus vidas. Como autora independiente y profesional de bibliotecas, Salvadora cree que las historias auténticas pueden preservar nuestra identidad, inspirar cambios significativos, fortalecer comunidades y motivar a nuevas generaciones a compartir sus voces.

“Cada historia tiene el poder de preservar nuestra cultura, inspirar el cambio y fortalecer comunidades.”

Congratulations on finishing your manuscript! But... What happens now? Find out in this dynamic panel discussion featuring three distinct voices from the publishing world: literary agent Bonnie Nadell from Hill Nadell Literary Agency, indie publisher J.C. Gabel of Hat & Beard Press, and author/book coach Karen A. Parker. Whether you are aiming for a traditional publishing deal, curious about the indie press landscape, or trying to figure out revisions of that first draft, our experts will break down your options. Come with your questions and leave with a clear roadmap for the next phase of your author journey.

J.C. Gabel is the publisher and editorial director of Hat & Beard Press. Since its founding, Gabel has edited and published more than 100 titles on the creative arts, including books on photography, film, poetry, music, and fine art, as well as interviews. In 2026, he co-founded The Loved One, a new community bookshop, art gallery, and event space in Echo Park.

Bonnie Nadell is the President of the Hill Nadell Literary Agency based in Los Angeles. She represents writers of both fiction and narrative nonfiction. Her clients include several national and New York Times bestselling authors, and many have won or been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, Carnegie Medal, National Book Critics Circle Award, Kirkus Prize, the Saroyan Prize, and numerous PEN Awards, among others.

Karen A. Parker (they/them) is a Black, queer, nonbinary, and neurodivergent Buddhist layperson from Los Angeles. They graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from UC Riverside’s Palm Desert program in June 2024, and they help other BIPOC and QUILTBAG+ speculative fiction writers as an Author Accelerator-certified fiction book coach. 

In this special session, Angel City Press Marketing Manager Elliot Kane explores the challenges and triumphs of modern book marketing. Kane will share expert strategies on building meaningful press contacts within a shifting media landscape, the undeniable impact of live events and author appearances, and creative ways to champion important books that give so much to the world.

Elliot Kane is the Marketing Manager for Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library. He is a third-generation Angeleno who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, where he could often be found at the Encino-Tarzana Branch. Elliot is a graduate of Humboldt State University, where he received a B.A. in Anthropology. 

Zines are a DIY form of rapid publishing that is a great way to share your thoughts, poetry, drawings, comics, and more! Learn how to fold and assemble several types of zines using various methods, including X-Fold, T-Cut, Snake, Pamphlet Stitch zines, and the "Centennial Fold," a mini zine celebrating a century of the light of learning for the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles Central Library.

You will leave with instructions and templates to help you incorporate these techniques into your next zine projects. All supplies are provided.

Nova Community Arts is a queer-owned, community-focused center dedicated to arts education for adults in a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Registration is required to attend this in-person program. To participate, please email rsvpoctavialab@lapl.org.